August 26, 2009

Corinne Dowling, founder of Give a Dog a Bone brings love and companionship to those animals who are in shelter custody and often are unadoptable. (ZT Pet News Photo)

SAN FRANCISCO -- Every so often pets will find themselves plastered all over the headlines -- whether from the unfortunate actions of their own or their owners -- their stories becoming the center of attention. But what happens to these animals, mostly dogs, once their 15 minutes of fame has expired?

Corrine Dowling knows first-hand the plight of long-term shelter outcasts. For most, while their future remains in limbo, their presence becomes trivial -- pushed to the back of an animal shelter indefinitely -- ignored and unloved.

But Corrine is changing this reality for countless dogs through her program Give a Dog a Bone at a San Fransisco animal shelter. Putting her own budget and life on the line, Corinne gives them the time, compassion and love that all living things are worthy of, no matter their circumstances.

Now she is encouraging and helping other shelters across the country implement this unique program for "custody dogs" and in the process, Corinne took time to give ZT Pet News even more insight into this cause.

What is the purpose of Give a Dog a Bone?

I don’t know what to say about purpose. I wanted to do something for some dogs whom the shelter simply did not have the resources for and who live invisibly behind a door at the end of the shelter building. I wanted to give them names.

So now our organization devotes our time to providing quality of life to dogs behind bars at the San Francisco Municipal shelter. We work constantly to develop and maintain environmental enrichment -- we give them the attention and compassion every animal deserves.

How many animals has GADAB helped?

Each year, we work with around 300 animals, which brings us to approximately 3,000 animals to date. Mostly dogs, but we occasionally have other custody animals. And regardless of the outcome of any of our animals, we have enriched their lives while they were with us. For some of them, we were the first to love them, and also the last.

At what point did you realize the growing need to support these animals?

The dogs never stop coming. I think there was always a need. I had an idea and I went with it, more ideas came, and volunteers came in with even more ideas. The dogs themselves inspire us, and how can one not evolve over time with all this awareness flooding in?

What is the typical reason why a dog would be in protective custody?

Some of our dogs are high-profile cases, dogs you’ll read about in the news for a few days and then never hear much about them again. In our shelter, they’re called custody dogs, impounded for a variety of reasons, such as those in protective custody or medical isolation, taken from their owners on charges of neglect, abuse, and cruelty.

Dogs I have seen lately include two young pit bulls, both hit by cars which sped away. I think both drivers somehow knew what they had done. In terrible pain, and still giving us face kisses, all we could do for them was to hold them while the vet staff did their best to relieve the hurt of their injuries.

Other frequent victims of neglect include dogs who have mange for so long that their raw skin looks burnt and bloody.

We see dogs who have been made to fight one another; victims of people from all levels of life who have the same beliefs about dogs that Michael Vick has shown.

Many have been “dumped." We’ve all been dumped, rejected, left in tears by someone we love; but the meaning of the word “dumped” has changed for us.

Dogs are in custody due to owners who cannot care for them presently, perhaps due to hospitalization, arrest, eviction, or death.

We have a few dogs every year who enter the shelter and are placed in the Safe Pet Program -- canine companions of domestic violence victims who are in a shelter themselves.

Some of our dogs are impounded on an complaint pending an investigation. Each dog’s case is different and no outcome is predictable. Dogs either await an owner to return, or a decision rendered by the Court system. Very frequently, a prolonged court case has to be resolved prior to the disposition of the animal(s) involved, resulting in an indefinite stay in the shelter. The public rarely knows about these dogs.

What percentage of animals return home?

It varies slightly each year. Generally the number hovers at just below half of our population. That doesn’t mean that the dog returns to a good home or a bad one; it just means that that dog went back to where s/he came from. In the shelter community, that’s referred to as a “live release."

Does the dispositions of these dogs differ from normal adoptable shelter dogs?

We’ve kept statistics for the almost 10 years we’ve been here, and the truth is that many of our dogs come in so damaged that their outcome is not as rosy as those of the adoptable shelter dogs.

They can leave the shelter in three different ways: rehomed, back to their original home, or dead because they are not deemed safe enough to live in our communities.

Quite a few of our dogs return to their homes. Whether we regard that as positive or negative does not impact the outcome.

A lot of our dogs are euthanized for medical or behavioral reasons. It can be sad beyond belief. The transition from life to death for beings whom we have cherished, laughed with, shared play time, taught, dogs who have come in completely shut down and learned to trust a human being again, dogs we have lolled around in the grass with.

The best outcome for us is when our dogs are adopted to good homes. Quality of life plays a huge part in these animals’ adoptions. We have developed relationships with responsible rescue organizations and we are proactive with our San Francisco shelter. We’ve just begun to initiate a small foster program ourselves for the dogs with whom we work, mostly pit bull and pit bull mixes, who have a more difficult time being rehomed.

What sacrifices have you had to make in launching and running Give a Dog a Bone?

The word “financial” come to mind pretty much immediately. Being dependant on donations and outside resources to keep afloat is an awful struggle. I feel that if I allowed myself to think of just how many balls I am juggling that one-by-one, they would simply drop.

I have to decide what I have to let go, or what I have to put on the back burner. I have to stuff my tongue in my mouth at times and listen politely when someone tells me how important this work is. I want to shout, “I appreciate your words, but I really need your help!”

Everyone in the shelter world sacrifices peace of mind; we never have enough time or resources, and the friendships that we had before we entered this world change. We can never talk about the things we see – people don’t want to know. And it’s awfully limiting, although sometimes freeing, to be with people whom you love that have no idea what I experience in my daily life.

I can’t talk about my day to my old friends. Very few people know how that feels. That’s my life. It’s draining, my body hurts, and my emotions, well, I have to find a healthy way to deal with how I feel and that’s a huge struggle.

When in your life did you know you were/are an animal person?

I would say, in my mid-20s, when I got my first cat, a Siamese from the Sonoma County shelter. Truly though, my life came to a screeching “are you kidding me, so that’s is what this is about?” breathtaking moment when I fell in love with my first American Pit Bull Terrier. He was my first dog and he changed my life almost as much as my husband did. We both loved him hard and we all brought out the best in each other.

How did that realization change your life?

How could it not? I fell in love with a dog -- I did not know that could happen. Oh, how I loved that dog. It was amazing. We talked about him during dinner, we went places we had never gone before, he taught us how to put him to bed -- which we loved doing -- we were introduced to a magnificent breed, and we became his guardians and protectors. He made us laugh a lot.

How do volunteers get involved with these animals?

As far as beginning volunteers, there is extensive training depending on the level of dog skills that the volunteer brings with her. I say her because this is a woman-dominated field, for whatever reasons one might come up with.

Most dogs in custody and medical quarantine arrive with multiple behavior issues, such as fearfulness, aggression, extreme shyness, no set boundaries, no training, etc.

As the dogs’ progress through socialization, handling, and training, we find we also benefit. The dogs show us love, make us laugh, and respond to us in new ways. We get to share that with each other.

We teach our volunteers how to work and play with dogs confined to kennel, how to bring out joy in fearful dogs, how to read body language, safety policies and protocols, luring and shaping behaviors, the list goes on and on.

We use online volunteer sites, some vols we get from our Web site, some word of mouth, some volunteers bring in other vols, but there’s always one constant -- we have never had enough volunteers.

This is a very difficult, extremely emotional arena in the animal welfare field. Not a lot of people can do this and I know that because I hear it all the time.

How can shelters around the country implement the same type of program?

Give a Dog a Bone can be a pilot program for every shelter in the country. Start with a supportive administration and a self-starter who understands how to bring in a new program with staff support.

I’ve deliberately formed an inexpensive program, as all shelters are under-resourced and we can show you how we do it, but it has to work for your shelter. We have been working on ways to share our enrichment programs with other shelters.

You can currently go to our Web site, look at our FAQ there, and read our blog for ideas on how to enrich your shelters’ dogs’ lives. Imagination and resourcefulness are key, as is patience, and compassion underlies everything (and wealthy and involved patrons would be a huge bonus!). A business plan, funding, planned sustainability and strategic development, a solid board – these are some of the things you will need if you are going to operate as a non-profit within your shelter. If the shelter is going to do it, hopefully the latter items will already be in place.

Do you have any pets?

I have my Munchie and my Mutley, both from this shelter. See their stories on our Web site blog, found on our home page, www.gadab,org. Do a search for either name and my boys will come up. We all adore one another.

What would the animals in your life say about you?

That we have much to give each other - that in the big picture we belong together and that they understand how much I love them.

Through all the pain and suffering, all the fun and laughter, the thousands of wet balls that I have thrown over and over again, the innumerable kisses that have licked away my tears, the countless bellies that have been presented proudly to me for a massage -- what they would say is they want me to keep my sanity and my sense of humor.

Pets and animals bring what to your life?

They bring me delight. Joy. Laughter. Love. Patience. Animals pretty much bring me life. To wit, exercise: My boys get me out to some great places when I would rather burrow into my bed and read about someone else’s life. Cuddling: It involves all your senses.

Excitement: Watching the bright eyes of a very intelligent dog waiting -- on cue -- for me to set up her next mental puzzle is very exhilarating. When I clap and praise a doggie accomplishment, and he beams his pleasure at me, life is good.

Add understanding and curiosity to these gifts.

In your opinion, what is the biggest issue animals face in our global society?

The nuts and bolts of everything is compassion.

A wise and holy man was said to have said, “Do unto others ...” Having been raised a Catholic, those are three words I could answer to almost everything.

Elisabeth Brock is the editorial assistant for Zootoo Pet News and can be reached at ebrock@zootoo.com.